Texas GOP move to ban educators from teaching Critical Race Theory

By Teddy Grant Published: May 13, 2021

Texas GOP move to ban educators from teaching Critical Race Theory

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shows a new executive order regarding reporting data about the coronavirus during a news conference on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, in Austin, Texas. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

By: Teddy Grant

Texas GOP passed a bill in the house Tuesday that would ban Critical Race Theory in its public schools, according to HuffPost.

The bill, which Gov. Greg Abbott said he’ll sign into law, says that social studies teachers are barred from discussing racism, white supremacy and current events, according to HuffPost. Teachers can’t discuss concepts, such as “one race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex,” an idea that “an individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.”

The bill passed along party lines in a 79-65 vote.

According to Dallas News, Republican Rep. Steve Roth introduced the bill on the Texas House floor. He asked, “Do you want our Texas kids to be taught that the system of government in Texas and the United States is nothing but a cover-up for white supremacy?”

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, who opposed the measure, told HuffPost that the legislation was written strategically. “You can talk about race in the classroom, but you can’t talk about privilege or white supremacy. It doesn’t outright ban talking about race, but the idea is to put in landmines so any conversation about race in the classroom would be impossible.”

Texas joins other states in the push to ban Critical Race Theory from being taught.

In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that the concept would be banned from Florida’s statewide civics education. “There’s no room in our classrooms for things like Critical Race Theory. Teaching kids to hate their country and to hate each other is not worth one red cent of taxpayer money,” he said.

Critical Race Theory is a legal analysis which states race is a social construct that is used to oppress people of color rather than a natural, biological feature, according to Brittanica.